Set of chess pieces

ABSTRACT

A chess set comprising reversible pieces which are squares of about the same size as the squares on the playing board, the said pieces having on one side the name and symbol of the piece and on the opposite side the name and move of the piece, and on each lateral side two relatively inverted indicia thereon facing in opposite directions, the thickness of the piece being substantially less than its width, and said indicia consisting of the first letter of the name of the piece, one indicia being upright no matter which face is up.

United States Patent {72] Inventor Desmond W. Margetson 515 West l22nd St., New York, N.Y. 10027 [21] Appl. No. 738,011 [22] Filed June 18, 1968 [45] Patented Sept. 28, 1971 [54] SET OF CHESS PIECES 1 Claim, 13 Drawing Figs.

[52] 1U.S.Cl 273/113711, 273/136 H {51] Int. Cl A631 3/00 [51)] Field 01 Search 273/131, 136, 137

I56] References Clted UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,932,518 4/1960 Burros 273/137 937,796 10/1909 Hallock 273/131 1,141,909 6/1915 DAutremont 273/131 7/1925 Fritz 273/131 X 5/1927 Lesavoy 273/137 3/1937 Klemin 273/131 6/1965 Durstewitz 273/137 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1908 Great Britain 273/131 6/1966 Great Britain 273/137 Primary Examiner Delbert B. Lowe Attorney-Hammond & Littell ABSTRACT: A chess set comprising reversible pieces which are squares of about the same size as the squares on the playing board, the said pieces having on one side the name and symbol of the piece and on the opposite side the name and move of the piece, and on each lateral side two relatively inverted indicia thereon facing in opposite directions, the thickness of the piece being substantially less than its width, and said indicia consisting of the first letter of the name of the piece, one indicia being upright no matter which face is up.

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IINVENTOR DESMONID W. MARGEISON Elm/41w ATTORNEYS SET or cnEss PIECES PRIOR ART Chess has until now been played with sculptured pieces of varying complexity or beauty and on an 8 square X 8 square checkered board in which the alternate squares are of different colors. The said sculptured pieces have a way of distracting a player, particularly beginners, due to their size and design, and they are fragile and require weighting. The use of the standard checker board for chess tends to strain the players eyes and to obscure the relationship between the pieces and their moves, while the eye should be led by the pieces and not the board.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a novel chess set which simplifies the learning of the game of chess for beginners.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel chess set which can be economically produced and from the use of which even advanced players can benefit.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become obvious from the following detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The chess set of the invention is comprised of chess pieces in the form of squares of approximately the size of the squares on a playing board, the said pieces having an indicia of the piece on one side and the move of the piece on the other side. The indicia may be the symbol and the name of the piece. In a preferred embodiment, the pieces may be marked on the sides or edges with the name and/or an identifying mark such as the first letter of the name of the piece, e.g., p for pawn. The pieces are therefore completely identified by name, move, symbol and abbreviation for the name.

The pieces of the invention have many advantages. Due to their shape, they have a low center of gravity and do not have to be weighted, take up much less storage space and are less susceptible to breakage during handling. The pieces may be made of any suitable material such as plastic, aluminum, steel, stone, ceramic material, etc.

A further advantage of the pieces is that the lack of varying forms for the different pieces prevents the player from being distracted by the esthetic appeal of the pieces and reveals the precision of the mental concepts which make chess the great game it is. The player is able to better see the interrelationships of the pieces and will be able to improve his thinking and strategy based on what he actually sees. This system does not replace the conventional system but does provide a gradual assimilation of the concepts rather than the present ungraduated one.

The indicia on the piece may be the standard symbol for the piece and the printed name of the piece is on both sides to aid the reversible feature of the set. Preferably, the piece has the standard symbol and name on one side and on the other side the moves of the piece, and the name of the piece also. These latter pieces are extremely useful for beginners since they can see at a glance what the various pieces are and how they move and this aids in planning the strategy and other fine points of the game without constantly having to remember the type of moves for each piece. Of course, the name of the piece may be written in the language normally used in the country where the sets are sold, making the system universally practical. Moreover, the edges of the pieces may be interlocking, as with poker chips, for ease of stacking and storage. Also, the indicia on the pieces may be raised for the blind player.

The major improvement in the playing board is the use of one color for the squares on the board which prevents eyestrain and reveals more of the relationships between the pieces. The standard chess board used up to now has used alternating colors on the squares. To aid people who have difficulty adjusting to the new board, a "W for white and B" for black or some equivalent may be put in alternate squares. The board may also have the standard checkered board on the reverse side so that the individual not wishing to change his system may use the said board. This permits use of the reversible pieces and the reversible board in various combinations to aid mastery of concepts.

An optional feature resides in marking the squares on the board with numbers from I to 64 so that each square has a fixed number to make replaying of games easier than the cum bersome methods now in use. Preferably, the square in the lower left-hand corner is marked 1 and the squares are numbered columnwise up the board. Optionally, the numbering may proceed from left to right across. the board or the coordinate system may be used where end rows and columns of squares are numbered 1 to 8 from left to right and from bottom to top and each square is then designated by a set of coordinates, such as 1,1. Referring now to the drawings:

FIGS. 11 and 1a are plan views of both sides of a pawn piece of the invention.

FIGS. 2 and 2a are plan views of both sides of a knight piece of the invention.

FIGS. 3 and 3a, 4 and 4a, 5 and 5m, and 6 and 6a are plan views of both sides of a king, queen, bishop and rook, respectively, of the invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a board with numbered squares.

In FIG. l, the pawn piece is in the shape of a square and could have a thickness from $6 to 1% inch, or, more preferably, about $41 inch, so that it is heavy enough to remain in position and easy enough to grasp for moving the piece. In the top 1 of the piece, the name 2 of the piece is printed and the move 3 of the piece is indicated with the dotted line indicating the optional 2 square first move of the pawn. Although the piece il lustrated has shown thereon the number of squares for the movement of the piece, this may be omitted. The X in the squares indicates capture of a piece by the pawn and the arrow indicates the direction of the move. On each side of the piece there are letters 4 to indicate the particular piece. For a pawn, the letter p is used although any other symbol may be used.

In FIGS. 2 and 2a, the piece illustrated is the knight which has a rather complex move which is difficult for beginners to grasp. In FIG. 2a, the symbol 5 for the knight is placed in the center thereof and this is the face that would be up if experienced players were using the set, as this is the more decorative side. FIG. 2 shows the face that would be up if an inexperienced player were using the set. At any time, the pieces may be flipped over for position analysis. On this side, the name 6 of the piece appears near the edge and the move 7 of the knight is placed in the center. In FIG. 2 the move of the knight is indicated as being two squares in one direction and one square in a direction.

FIGS. 3 and 3a, 4 and 4a, 5 and 5a and 6 and 6a illustrate preferred embodiments of other pieces with the symbol and name of the piece on one side and the name and move on the other side of the piece.

In FIG. 7, a preferred embodiment of the board is illustrated where the board is divided into 8 rows of 8 squares each and the board is of a uniform color to avoid the diverting diagonals of the usual board. The left column is numbered from I to 8 bottom to top and the rest of the board is numbered in ascending order in the same fashion.

Various modifications of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit or scope thereof and it is to be understood that the invention is to be limited only as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A chess set comprising reversible: chess pieces in the form of uniform squares about the size of the squares on the board to be used and whose height is substantially less than the width of the square, the said reversible pieces having on one face an indicia showing a standard picture symbol of the individual piece and on the opposite face an indicia showing the name and move of the piece and on each lateral side two relatively inverted indicia identifying the piece and facing in opposite directions so one indicia is right side up no matter which face rs up. 

1. A chess set comprising reversible chess pieces in the form of uniform squares about the size of the squares on the board to be used and whose height is substantially less than the width of the square, the said reversible pieces having on one face an indicia showing a standard picture symbol of the individual piece and on the opposite face an indicia showing the name and move of the piece and on each lateral side two relatively inverted indicia identifying the piece and facing in opposite directions so one indicia is right side up no matter which face is up. 